. @shaistaAziz begins the launch - we are here this morning to focus on issues of anti-racism in the VAWG sector. We encourage you to listen actively to what is being said and join this movement. #endracisminvawg http://www.endracisminvawg.org 

. @shaistaAziz - We know that there are many sisters here who are impacted by racism in our daily lives, and for many we are carrying generational trauma, and also experience racism in our sector. We want to honour each of you here and acknowledge that this is the reality we face.

Asking why our sisters are here today: @AndreaSimon48 I am here because I cannot ignore racism in the vawg sector.

. @lucyhadley_x I am here because white women need to be part of conversations about racism.

. @gvguk I'm here to support my sisters who do not find safety in our sector. I'm here because for this hope to actualise we need to do the work.

. @hudzyboo I'm here becaus I care about black and minoritised women being retraumatised by racism in our sector

Now handing over to Baljit Banga from @Imkaan talking about the policing of black and minoritised people and the brutality they experienced. George Floyd woke up white people to the police violence but that many statements did not name 'racism' but focussed on diversity

The VAWG sector was no different. We need to face up to the racism in the sector that has dismantled black and minoritised specialist services. That's why I'm here doing this work.

Baljit: Why this work is needed Black and minoritised vawg sector is under funded by 40% need ot increase refuge beds by 74% - disproportionate targeting by austerity in black and minoritised sector.

Our research shows that 25 BME women's organisations shared on average £400 000 per organisation whilst 10 white led women orgs shared £2.5 million each. This is a result of racism. Black and minoritised orgs are 6-7 times less likely to be successful for funding.

Racism in our sector looks like this. Black and minoritised women are not invited to strategic meetings, and are labelled as trouble makers. Racism exists when white led partnerships speak on our behalf, using our data and words to create narratives that do not fit our..

...lived experiences. Racism is unequal partnerships between white led orgs. Racism is the constant state of inequality. Racism is the benevolence of white led organisations who say they are 'doing it for our own good.'

Racism is the denial of organisations right to exist of orgs black and minoritised women have built up for decades, because black and minoritised women had no place to go. racism is the appropriation of our work. #endracisminvawg

We need to address racism and fundamentally transform our sector. We need a structural response to end racism. We have put together the charter to move the sector from the performative to the transformative. https://www.endingracisminvawg.org/  #endracisminvawg

Baljit - The Prevent programme has led to increased surveillance of our communities and the hostile environment continues to target migrant women. We need to shift practices that are inherently racist that have harmed our sector. The charter and call to action is the promise...

...of transformation. The revolution is here and racism must go. #endraicisminvawg

Now hearing from Lucy Hadley on white ally space: our way of working has been respecting the leadership black and minoritised women in their analysis of racism.

White women are not here for a platform of plaudits for doing allyship work. We have not or will not ever get it right. This is an ongoing process and commitment about recognising our power and privilege in the sector to bring about substantive change.

As white women in white led organisation, we need to be honest about where we sit in anti-racism work in the vawg sector. Separate work was needed on allyship and white supremacy. It is not the work of black and minoritised women to educate us on this.

We need to address white fragility, the defensiveness that white people experience when racism is discussed. We appeal for white women to address this and move past it to focus on how to tackle the injustice.

in the wake of George Floyd's murder it was black and minoritised women who had to raise structural racism in our sector and white women who were glaringly silent. I want to reflect on the need to listen and take guidance.

In early meetings, black and minoritised women in the group were telling us that there were opportunities for change, there was emotional labour involved in revisiting the trauma of the racism experienced in the sector.

The call to action and charter reflect issues raised repeatedly by black and minoritised women. Following the lead of black and minoritised women was powerful for us. For white led orgs and white women on the call today - this is only the start of the work. #endracisminvawg

Now to @hudzyboo to take us through the charter. She begins by speaking about the sector call just after the murder of George Floyd - some of us raised the issue - relayed that we can't be talking about harm done ot women if we cannot address the harm done to black and brown...

...bodies and specifically anti-blackness that we are seeing all around the globe. The catalyst for us to voice our pain and ensure that we are heard because we cannot be silenced anymore, was that many sector orgs seemed to be reacting to murder of George Floyd by...

...making statements and how they stand in solidarity with black and brown bodies, but that was very different to our experiences as black and minoritised workers in the sector #endracisminvawg

Covid19 pandemic has disproportionately affected black and brown people - and experiencing structural racism that led to our communities being decimated, as well as the 'stop and search' powers and policing of black and minoritised people has been confirmed to be...

....disproportionate to white people.

. @hudzyboo The #DAbill has fallen short of protecting all survivors due to the exclusion of migrant survivors. The hostile environment, covid bill and changes to anti-terrorism legislation are all ways in which our communities have suffered and led to this impetus to say...

....no more. We operate in a white supremacist structure and reflect these structures in our practices. This led to us on the sector call to demand that our sector address these discrepancies. We volunteered to come together and offer a solution.

. @hudzyboo It's been a pleasure to work alongside these women to develop this charter. We also talked about membership and how we can increase membership of anti-racism working group. Way to establish trust and create a safe space meant that adding additional members was...

...not appropriate - but if you do want to get involved please do contact us on the website and sign up to the charter.

Estelle from @rightsofwomen taking us through the values.

We are asking all vawg sector orgs to sign up to the charter and recognise these standards. It is white-led orgs that need to be most active in creating change.

1. Accountability - overarching value that gives meaning to all anti-racism work. This value focuses on action - requires white led orgs to recognise and reflect on the power and privilege they hold and dismantle it.

2. Fairness - equitable division of resources and challenge funding process that perpetuate exclusion. working together this can change. Fundamentally address competition in funding

3. Collaboration - genuine commitment to ending racism through collaborative partnership working.

4. Diversity - black and minoritised women have unique and specialist expertise and be active in supporting their autonomy and ending the appropriation of their work.

5. Representation - effective and equitable policy needs black and minoritised orgs to be visible and represented at every stage.

6. Equality - scrutinise how black and minoritised orgs are excluded or sidelined. Explore how strucutral inequality is replicated in different orgs.

7. Intersectionality - centre women who face multiple forms of oppression - race, class, faith, immigration status, sexuality.

8. Inclusivity - communicate in an inclusive way that results in the full participation of black and minoritised women and accessible resources for survivors including building in translation costs at the outset of our projects.

Estelle - none of these issues are new - they have been repeatedly raised in the vawg sector by black and minoritised women for years. White women need to step up and accept their role in bringing about this change.

Calling on orgs to join forces with us and develop a detailed charter that will dismantle structural and everyday racism in our work.

. @AndreaSimon48 - all organisations can develop best practices in monitoring and evaluating diversity. Black and minoritised women in white led orgs have documented racism, barriers to progression and disrespect.

Representative leadership and governance is something to strive for. White led orgs dominate the vawg sector and black and minoritised women are under represented in positions of leadership. black and minoritised women carry the burden of antiracism work without...

adjusting of workloads or recognition of the emotional impact of this work. Fixing funding inequalities is a long-standing priority in the sector and is urgently important in this climate. Redistributing funding would require orgs to challenge publicly the funding structures...

...that perpetuate funding inequality. Black and minoritised orgs would be meaningfully included in funding bids. We all have a role in address inequality in the vawg sector - sharing power and resource. #endracisminvawg

Ending white silence and tackling racism and oppression includes standing in solidarity with black and minoritised women in decision making spaces. We want these pledges and commitments to kickstart the work needed to end racism in the vawg sector.

It is arguably never been more important in the context of our political climate and global pandemic to centre the voices of the most marginalised. we can't continue to fail black and minoritised women and girls. Now is the time to show commitment to these values and embark...

...on the necessary work to change. #endracisminvawg